Tick Tick Boom
by Siebel
Summary: Time is flying more swiftly then ever for Rosette Christopher, could Aion possibly have a hand in this! Read to find out.
1. Attack on the Order

Authors Note: I do not to own any of the characters of the anime and manga series, Chrno Crusade. All characters of Chrno Crusade are copyright to Moriyama Daisuke.  
  
Summary: Set between the time that Rosette joins the Militia, and before 'the gang' sets out for San Francisco. It seems that Rosette and Chrno's arch nemesis, Aion, has discovered a way to manipulate the power of the Astral line to affect Rosette's Contractor's clock. Now, the time is flying swifter then ever for the young Magdalena nun, so the whole crew, Chrno, Rosette, Satella, and Azumaria, have set out to find a way to reverse Aion's new devious plot.  
  
Tick... tick... some would be irritated by the soft, yet still incessant click of a clock, however, to Chrno, it was music to his ears. His contractor was sleeping deeply, mouth open, snoring softly, head back. Beside her was a small girl with pastel violet hair, also asleep, leaning against Rosette. It had been a long night; Sister Kate had called in around 10 pm with a high-action, low class job for Rosette and her companions. The extermination itself had taken no more then 30 minutes, however, the cleanup had taken half the night. A novice Satan worshipper had unsealed a demon whom had taken up his residence in a book binding factory. It had only taken one well placed sacred, courtesy of Rosette, to dispose of the low level demon. However, in order to get this perfect shot, she had lured the demon out of the building, and he had wreck the wall of the factory in the process. Of course, this particular wall happened to support the entire building, and it had promptly come crashing down. After spending about 4 hour filling out paperwork and helping clean up the mess, Rosette, Chrno, and Azumaria were able to retreat to the car.  
  
Rosette had attempted to drive home, but had nearly caused three accidents in the process, falling asleep at the wheel. Chrno, taking the lead, had convinced his contractor that she should pull over, and that they could sleep in the car tonight. Of course, after some random prattling, Rosette had fallen asleep, Azumaria had soon followed suit, but Chrno had been unable to catch the elusive grip of slumber. Now, he was listening to the soft sounds of the night; the quiet ticking of the clock, Rosette's snoring, a horn honking in the far background. These were the type of moments he cherished, and hoped that he would never be forced to give them up.  
  
Now of course, he was now onto more morbid thoughts. Just what would he do when Rosette's time was up? It had taken 50 years to heal his emotional scars after losing Magdalene, and the young demon was not sure he could take the depression that would follow Rosette's death. However, his dark musing were interrupted when suddenly he noticed that the snoring had stopped and Rosette was now awake and looking at him intently.  
  
"Ne, Chrno, what's wrong?" she asked, her face showing concern.  
  
"E-eh? M-maa, maa, Rosette, what're you talking about? I'm fine." The young demon said with a bit of hesitation, and a sweatdrop on his head.  
  
Squinting one eye, Rosette leaned forward so that she was only few inches before Chrno's face, nose to nose. Chrno blushed furiously, and attempted to lean back, only to find the backseat of the car in the way, however, Rosette seemed to honorable intentions, for she simply pulled down his cheek on either side, and peered into his eyes, before returning to her previous position.  
  
"Well, you don't look sick." Rosette continued, leaning back into the seat. "You sure you ok?"  
  
"H-hai, hai." He cleared his throat, his blush diminishing. Chrno glanced over Rosette over to Azumaria. "Is she still sleeping?"  
  
"Mmm hmm." Rosette answered absentmindedly as she climbed, rather clumsily, into the front of the car. "We should probably return to Magdalena, I'll have to report to Sister Kate in the morning." She sighed, Rosette was not looking forward to it. Sister Kate was fond of the young nun (though she did not show it often), and therefore, was a little bit harder on her. Rosette had been here before, and knew what was coming. Sister Kate would be furious, but, at least, she had not wrecked the car, and this was improvement. That was Rosette for you, always concentrating on the positive. Sure, she had wreck an entire factory building, but the car was not busted.  
  
Chrno, after making sure that Azumaria was safe in the seat (he knew the reckless nature of Rosette's driving, especially this late at night), he climbed up into the shot gun seat beside Rosette as she started the engine. The car grudgingly sputtered to life, as if it were irritated at being woken so late. However, Rosette did not wait for the engine to really instigate, flooring the pedal and lurching the car forward into a speed that was much higher then what was legally accepted. "Rosette!" Chrno cried in alarm. "You'll wake Azumaria, or worse, kill us all!"  
  
"Eheheh, mou, Chrno, lighten up!" Rosette responded in her normal, joking manner, while making a wild turn into the driveway for the Order, and screeching to a halt in front of the gates.  
  
By this point in time, Azumaria had awoken, and was not clutching to the door to keep from being thrown about the car. "Rosette," she began timidly, "please be careful, Sister Kate won't be happy if you crash the car again."  
  
Rosette's response to this was to turn around in her seat and glare pointedly at Azumaria. "I was nowhere near crashing the car," she said, eyes narrowed dangerously.  
  
Chrno, ignoring both girls, was attempting to catch the attention of the security officer whom was in charge of the gate. This however, was no use, for there was no one in the booth.  
  
"Oi! OI!!" Rosette yelled at the empty booth, waving her hands. "Open the gate would you? We're tired!"  
  
Chrno sighed, and sunk back into the car, after sticking his head out the window. "Rose-"he began, but it was no use, the young nun was already out of the car and shaking the gates.  
  
"Sleeping on the job? Let us iiiinnn!!" She continued, shaking the gates and causing quite a racket.  
  
Before Chrno or Azumaria were able to stop Rosette, a voice split the darkness, and it was rather angry. "Rosette?! What are you doing?! Where have you been?!!?!" It was sister Kate, garbed in her normal habit, which was odd, considering the time of night.  
  
"Eh... Sister Kate, what are you doing up so late?" Rosette said, a bit taken aback, and forgetting to apologize for her actions, once again.  
  
"Where have you been?!" she repeated. "I tried to call you, but no one picked up." She continued angrily.  
  
Rosette sent a glare back to Chrno, who grinned sheepishly. After they had completed their job, Chrno had stashed the ammunition and the phone in the trunk of the car, and apparently it had wrung while they were asleep. Well, Rosette would deal with him later, but at the moment, Sister Kate was quite flustered (something that did not happen often), something must have happened.  
  
Sister Kate wasted no more time, and cut straight to the point. "Demons attacked the Order while you were away, while we're not sure yet, we think it might have been a few subordinates of Aion!!"  
  
"What?! Well, let us in!!" Rosette said, urgency clear on her voice. She ran back to the car, starting up the engine again. Why did Aion show up here? Did it have something to do with Joshua? Just as her hopes had begun to rise, perhaps there had been a clue to her brother's whereabouts, the shattered. Rosette drove the car slowly through the gates, to be confronted by a rather gruesome scene. In the front courtyard of the Order, it was obvious a battle had been waged. Many bodies lay about the grass, with medics, all dressed in habits, walking among them. Some carried bandages, others carried stretchers for the wounded... or dead. Rosette could hear quiet gasps from the back seat, announcing that Azumaria was crying. Rosette too was finding it hard to repress her sorrow, why did this have to happen?!  
  
After parking the car, all three stepped out, and stared about rather dumbly. However, this was quickly interrupted by Sister Kate, leading them all inside the building. Chrno glanced over at Azumaria; he was worried about the young apostle. Maybe all of this was too much for her, she seemed to be a little overwhelmed. Chrno stepped closer to her, and gently placed a hand on Azumaria's shoulder, "It's okay..." he spoke softly. But was it really ok? It had been a long time since the Order had to confront Demons on their own property, and an even longer time since they had seen to many wounded. Why had the demons attacked? They were about to find out as Sister Kate led them into the secluded hut where the Elder normally worked.  
  
Author's Note: Thanks to Nightcrawlerelf for pointing out my mistakes and helping me correct them, I appreciate it! 


	2. Devastating Distraction

Authors Note: I do not to own any of the characters of the anime and manga series, Chrno Crusade. All characters of Chrno Crusade are copyright to Moriyama Daisuke.  
  
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Now, Elder's workplace had always been messy, infact, both Chrno and Rosette had never even seen it clean in all the years that they had been at the Order, but this was a bit extreme. Most of the floorboards had been pulled up and strewn about, and Gospels and Sacreds were rolling about everywhere, so it was exceedingly difficult to walk about without slipping on some type of loose ammunition. However, Rosette did not notice anything missing, most of Elder's inventions were intact, and she could find nothing wrong with he situation besides that his laboratory had been completely trashed.  
  
As she glanced about, Elder appeared beside her, so it was obvious that they had not killed or abducted the elderly scientist. "I don't understand..." Rosette began, as she stared at the room intently. "Nothings missing, only a few things are broken... it just doesn't make sense..." She picked up a stray bullet from the floor. "The even left the Sacreds and Gospels..." Mostly, that's what did not bode right with Chrno. Why hadn't they taken the bullets so that Sheda, Aion's personal lab rat, could do tests on them and hopefully create some kind of immunity against the ammunition?  
  
"Actually, there is one thing missing..." Elder piped up, and focusing the attention of Chrno and Rosette upon himself. "Rosette," he began in an even tone, "do you remember when you first came to the Order, and I did some tests on your Covenant Clock? I kept records of my data in a small safe beneath the floor boards of this room, and, while I have not made a complete search, it would seem that the safe is the only thing missing."  
  
Rosette's brows furrowed, while Chrno just looked somewhat dumbstruck. "Why would they want that? It doesn't serve them any purpose, unless they want to make a Covenant of their own, which I doubt, since Aion still has his horns..." Her thoughts were inconclusive.  
  
"Well, it seems their target was this all along, the battle outside was a distraction so those who would raid this room would go undetected. As soon as they found what they were looking for, the assault ceased, and they left." Sister Kate explained, stepping forward. "For whatever reason they stole this information, it seems to be quite urgent and important."  
  
Chrno sat down on the bench just outside of Elder's cottage, and glanced to Rosette inside. As far he could see, the clock appeared completely normal. Maybe they really were thinking of making a Covenant... Rosette was right, Aion still had his horns, and so did Jenai, Rizel, and Vid, there was not need for a Contractor among them. "Could a demon become more powerful if he had his horns, AND made a Covenant?" Chrno suddenly asked, causing everyone to be cut short from his or her own thoughts.  
  
"No. the data I recorded showed that a Covenant only acts as horns would to a demon, so it would have no effect on one who still had his or her horns." the Elder replied after thinking for a moment.  
  
Chrno sighed. They could not open the seal, only the Contractor could do such a thing, so Rosette's soul did not seem in immediate danger. They could not force him to revert to his true form, while sucking the Astral from Rosette's soul.  
  
"Oh, well, it's their fault for stealing something so useless. Maybe they thought it was something else." Rosette dismissed it. "I'm going to go help Azumaria with the wounded." she said, walking out of the cottage and towards the courtyard.  
  
Chrno, however, could not so easily dispel of the situation so easily. There was something dubious about the whole circumstance that just did not bode well with him. Sighing again, Chrno stood, and after nodding to both Sister Kate and Elder, he hurried after Rosette to aid her in her task.  
  
Azumaria was brimming with tears as she bandaged a wounded Minister's head. The young Apostle had been exposed to the aftermath of battle many times, but that did not soften the pang of sorrow she felt for the wounded and deceased. As she finished bandaging the man's head, he smilied faintly at her as he was loaded onto a stretcher. Azumaria smiled in return before turning around to see Rosette and Chrno coming this way to assist her.  
  
"You really should take a rest, Az." Rosette said, using Azumaria's nickname given to her by the young nun. "Here, I'll take over for you, you've been at this a while." Rosette guided the girl in the direction of the Main Magdelan building before moving onto the next wounded nun. Chrno worked beside Rosette, bandaging the nun's head while Rosette worked on her leg and torso. Wordlessly, they both finished their individual tasks, before Rosette helped the fallen nun into a sitting position. "Are you comfortable?" By this she meant were the bandages to binding in any way. The nun merely shook her head and smiled her thanks, to weak to be coherent.  
  
Rosette stood, wiping her hands down with a rag that she had found in Azumaria's first aid kit, before offering the same rag to Chrno, whom accepted it gratefully. As he wiped his hands, he heard Rosette speak to him in a soft voice. "You never really get used to it, huh?" Rosette sighed as she looked over the scene. Most of the wounded had been bandaged and had been loaded onto stretchers and taken to the informatory, or were waiting to do so.  
  
Chrno placed a hand on Rosette's shoulder. He could tell she was grieved by the whole concept and actuality of it. "Why weren't we here, Chrno.. We could have helped.. maybe, if we had been-" Chrno cut of Rosette in mid sentence. "I'm sorry, but it's no use thinking of such things now. We should be happy that so few were lost."  
  
Rosette nodded. By now, tears had brimmed in her eyes, but had not spilled over. She was not one to cry easily. Chrno smiled and removed his hand from her shoulder. "Come on, let's go check on Azumaria."  
  
As it happens, Azumaria had not done as she was instructed (which was quite odd) and had gone to the informatory to assist the wounded more. When Chrno and Rosette arrived, they could see the weariness on Azumaria's face. She had been using little bits of her power as an Apostle to heal some of the nuns and ministers. "Azumaria!" Rosette chided the young girl gently. "I thought I told you to take a rest, they'll be fine."  
  
"B-but, I have to help them, Rosette! I have to do something!" Her face was already wet from tears, and fresh ones spilled down her face anew. "Azumaria, you've done enough, everyone understands that you need to rest." Chrno added, putting his arm on her shoulders and steering her through the door, Rosette on his heels. Azumaria did not put up much of a fight after that, crying quietly on Chrno's shoulder as they walked up to her room.  
  
After much sniveling and a few encouraging words from both Rosette and Chrno. Azumaria had fallen asleep, and her friends were not far behind her. When Minister Remington came to check in on the young Apostle, he found Rosette dozing in a chair, and Chrno propped up at the end of the bed, also asleep. The Minister had to smile at this; at least they were getting some rest. However, when he went to leave, after placing blankets on both Rosette and Chrno, Chrno woke. "Minister... Remington?" He asked, rubbing his eyes until he was completely alert. "Is something wrong? Did something happen?"  
  
"No, nothing." Remington replied, pausing in the doorway. "Go back to sleep, Chrno, you need it." With that, he shut the door softly behind himself, leaving Chrno to listen to his footsteps echo and slowly fade out as he walked down the hall. Chrno, now awake, glanced about, Rosette had fallen asleep in the chair, and Azumaria was sleeping soundly in her bed. Somewhat hesitantly, he walked over to Rosette' and gently shook her awake. "Rosette... Rosette..." he whispered, attempting to preserve the peace so that Azumaria could sleep. Rosette slowly opened her eyes, and opened her moth to yell at Chrno for waking her up, but quickly closed it as she realized where she was. Nodding, she stood, stretched, and folded the blanket over the top of the chair. Chrno, too, took his blanket and placed it atop Rosette's before making his way, as silently as possible, towards the door. Rosette, after making sure Azumaria was all right, and asleep, headed towards the door as well.  
  
She headed to her own room, after saying good night to Chrno, for a good night's rest, even though it was only about 2 hours from when she would have to wake up again. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.  
  
Author's Note: When I say, "Tomorrow is going to be a long day." Hopefully, that means that the next chapter will be longer as well. 


End file.
